Death of Casey Goodson Jr.: Jury begins deliberating in Jason Meade murder trial

NBC4 is covering the murder trial of Jason Meade from gavel to gavel. Viewer discretion is advised. 1:30 p.m. update: The jury has begun deliberating.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The fate of a former sheriff’s deputy who killed a Black man at the door of his grandmother’s house now rests in the hands of a jury.

The prosecution and defense presented closing arguments Wednesday morning in the murder trial against Jason Meade. Meade, who faces two murder charges and one charge of reckless homicide, fatally shot Casey Goodson Jr. in 2020.

Meade was a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy coming off an assignment with the U.S. Marshals Service when he fatally shot 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. Meade has defended the shooting as necessary, claiming he saw Goodson wave a gun while driving and feared for his life when Goodson pointed that gun at him while standing in the threshold of his grandmother’s northwest Columbus house.

The state and Goodson’s family have argued that Goodson, who had a concealed carry permit, didn’t point his gun at Meade. Any commands Meade gave Goodson to drop his gun or put his hands up would have gone unheard, the state contends. Goodson was listening to music through AirPods when Meade shot him six times, five of which hit his back.

There is no footage of the incident, as the Marshals Service forbade body cameras at the time. And with no eyewitnesses to the actual shooting, the jury has been tasked with deciding whose version of events is more compelling.

‘Physical evidence doesn’t lie,’ prosecutors tell jury

Over more than two hours of closing arguments, special prosecutors Tim Merkle and Gary Shroyer urged the jury to closely evaluate Meade’s claims with the physical evidence they were shown, saying multiple times that “physical evidence doesn’t lie.” From the AirPods in Goodson’s ears to the sandwich bag in his hand to the bullet holes through the metal storm door, Goodson could not have been a threat to Meade, the prosecution argued.

Shroyer honed in on inconsistencies in Meade’s written statement and testimony. Meade originally stated that he saw the gun when Goodson stopped at the intersection before turning, but security footage from a nearby church showed Goodson made a continuous left turn. Meade also claimed Goodson ran after he saw Meade, but the officer who followed Meade testified that Goodson walked toward the door of the house.

Merkle and Shroyer hearkened back to what their expert policing practice witness, Seth Stoughton, testified on Tuesday: Meade’s actions did not align with generally accepted practices and principles of policing. He didn’t properly communicate with his fellow officers or give them the opportunity to arm themselves before he went after Goodson, Shroyer emphasized. Meade also failed to take cover, either behind his truck or a tree in the yard, to protect himself against the threat he said he observed.

“Just because Mr. Meade says, ‘I had to do this,’ you don’t have to accept that,” Merkle said. “Not if, looking at all the evidence, it doesn’t make sense.”

Meade was the only person who saw Goodson wave or point a gun that day, Shroyer emphasized on rebuttal. And while there were a number of things that Meade could not necessarily have known at the time -- like the fact that Goodson was wearing AirPods, or that he had a concealed carry permit -- Shroyer argued that a reasonable officer would not have acted the way Meade did.

Shroyer said if Meade acted like a reasonable officer, he would have taken more steps to ensure Goodson was aware he was a member of law enforcement, instead of relying on his Marshals vest. He could have turned his lights or sirens on before pursuing Goodson down Estates Place, Shroyer argued.

Shroyer and Merkle argued Meade's actions were reckless, at a minimum. At a maximum, Meade acted purposely to kill Goodson when he shot him six times in the back.

‘Corroboration is not a coincidence,’ defense argues

Defense attorney Mark Collins urged the jury to reject the state’s arguments, emphasizing multiple times that prosecutors “started with a premise and worked backwards.”

“Corroboration is not a coincidence,” Collins told jurors, pointing to the parts of Meade’s testimony that were supported by evidence, whether it be from footage or others’ testimony. He paused after making the U-turn to tell his fellow officer that he saw someone with a gun, and a neighbor who drove past Goodson’s house at the time testified that she heard someone shout commands to drop the gun.

Collins spent a significant amount of time discrediting the surprise witness who came forward late last week, highlighting inconsistencies among his interviews and testimony and narrowing in on the fact that he deleted his Facebook after being interviewed by the FBI.

The surprise witness, Christopher Corne, testified Tuesday that he was at the intersection where Meade first spotted Goodson and saw Goodson singing in his car, not waving a gun. Security footage from the church showed his heating and cooling company truck behind Meade’s when Goodson turned.

Corne posted on Facebook weeks after the shooting that he was at the intersection where Meade first saw Goodson. But he deleted that post and his entire account, saying he became overwhelmed with the number of friend requests he received after his name became public. Collins said without his account – or that fateful post in 2020 – the jury only has Corne’s word to rely on.

“Are you going to rely upon the word of Christopher Corne for a surgery for a child or care for an elderly parent? Because that’s proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” Collins said. “Is that the evidence you’re going to rely on?”

Collins said the prosecution put Corne on the stand because their case was weak and inconsistent. He said the evidence prosecution brought up again during closing -- including Goodson's grandmother's 911 call and the diagram of his gunshot wounds -- was nothing more than distractions.

What the jury should focus on, Collins argued, was what other officers testified: A person with a gun, even with their back turned, is still a threat. Meade acted to stop the threat, Collins said.

"He was placed in every officer’s nightmare of a situation, and he had to respond," Collins said.

What happened earlier in the trial? Who will be in the courtroom?

After a multi-day delay, the trial of Jason Meade resumed Tuesday, beginning with a surprise witness who disputed the defense’s claim that Casey Goodson Jr. was waving a gun while driving before Meade fatally shot him. In the afternoon, a law professor and use-of-force expert testified that Meade's actions before the shooting did not align with generally accepted law enforcement practices and principles but that he would have been justified in shooting if Goodson pointed a gun at him.

Meade testified in his own defense for nearly four hours last week, describing in detail the moments before he shot Goodson. While waiting at a red light, Meade said he saw Goodson brandish a gun in a “pumping” fashion and point it at another driver before pointing it at Meade.

He said Goodson pointed the gun at him again after ignoring commands to drop the weapon. In the doorway of his grandmother’s house, Goodson allegedly pointed the gun with his back still turned to Meade.

The jury also heard from a former law enforcement officer and use-of-force expert who testified that he believed Meade had a “lawful objective” in using deadly force against Goodson. 

The state brought more than a dozen witnesses to the stand to explain why Meade’s shooting of Goodson was unjustified. 

The safety was engaged on Goodson’s gun that was found in the kitchen near where he was shot, the jury also learned last week. With just a cloth holster, the lead detective on the case testified that he would expect the gun to fall out if Goodson ran – or when he fell from the gunshots.

But the state’s firearm expert said last week under cross-examination that if Goodson had been pointing or waving the gun, a person may not be able to tell whether the safety was engaged. Other law enforcement officers said under cross-examination that their guns have never fallen from the cloth holsters they used while undercover.

In the first week of the trial, jurors first heard from Goodson’s grandmother, uncle and sister, who were all in the house when Goodson was shot at the side door. Technical experts involved in the investigation, including an FBI firearms expert and the medical examiner who performed Goodson’s autopsy, also testified.

Meade spent his entire law enforcement career at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, first becoming a deputy in 2007. He left the force in July 2021 on disability retirement, five months before he was charged in Goodson’s death. He had been on paid leave since shooting Goodson.

The former Marine had been on the sheriff’s office SWAT team since 2014, according to his personnel file. He was previously a pastor at Rosedale Freewill Baptist Church in Irwin.

Representing Meade are three seasoned criminal defense attorneys: Mark Collins, Kaitlyn Stephens and Steven Nolder. Collins and Stephens have represented a swathe of law enforcement officials under prosecutorial scrutiny for their use of force, including former Columbus police vice officer Andrew Mitchell, who killed Donna Castleberry in 2018.

Presenting the state’s case are special prosecutors Gary Shroyer, Tim Merkle and Joshua Shaw, tapped by the Franklin County prosecutor’s office since it typically represents the sheriff’s office. Shroyer and Merkle have ample experience investigating officers who use deadly force — most recently, the duo is handling the murder case against former Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson, who killed Donovan Lewis in his bed in the Hilltop in August 2022.